Author Archives: Sheila Chau

Extremophiles: The Deinococcus Radiodurans

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Extremophiles are organisms that live in extreme environments; these environments are usually under high pressure and temperature. These organisms use certain enzymes, ‘extremozymes’, that help them exist in such an intense environment. Extremophiles were more prominent in the evolutionary history of the planet. They date back to more than 40 million years ago, and they…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Fermi’s Paradox

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Fermi’s paradox is the paradox where is there is no clear evidence for extraterrestrial life. This paradox was named after physicist Enrico Fermi, who made the point that we hadn’t seen any extraterrestrials. Where is everybody else? The Fermi paradox has possible solutions that are split into 3 categories: we are alone; civilizations are common,…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Neptune’s Triton’s Origins

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Sheila Chau

As compared to other moons, Neptune’s Triton was captured into Neptune’s orbit. This was found out due to its backward rotation and how it rotates at a high inclination to Neptune’s equator. Rather than being formed in the disk of gas around Neptune, Triton was most likely captured into Neptune’s orbit.  There is one way…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Magnetosphere

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Jupiter’s magnetosphere is by far the strongest. This is because of how thick its layer of metallic hydrogen is and its high-speed rotation rate. Its strength is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s. It’s so large that it begins to avert the solar wind almost 3 million kilometers before it even reaches Jupiter. Jupiter’s magnetosphere in…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Ganymede

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system; it’s even larger than Mercury. It also has a thin oxygen atmosphere and a magnetosphere.  There’s recently been a discovery that Ganymede has a salty ocean that is greater than all of Earth’s water.  It’s extremely fascinating that Ganymede has a salty ocean that has more…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Origins of the Solar System

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Sheila Chau

It’s interesting to think about the formation of the solar system and how the gasses that originally created it are still a part of our solar system. The origins of the solar system can be explained by the nebular theory. The nebular theory suggests that our solar system was formed from the gravitational collapse of…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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How Tides Actually Work

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Sheila Chau

When I was younger, I thought that mermaids were the reason why the tides moved. I thought that mermaids were pulling the ocean back and forth. I later learned the actual origins of the tides in school, but I would still like to think that mermaids were the reason. Instead of mermaids, tides are actually…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Isaac Newton was born January 4, 1643 and died March 31, 1727. Historical events that happened during his life Charles I beheading was January 30, 1649. He was put on trial for treason and declared guilty soon after. Restoration of England was a period that began in 1660 and ended in 1685. It meant for…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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The Vastness of the Universe

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Our universe is composed of two: the observable and entire. There is a distinction between the two because light takes time to travel through space. From what we know, the observable universe is 13.8 billion years old. Already, that’s an intimidating age, but the thought of the entire universe makes it even more intimidating. There…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Introduction

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Hello! I am Sheila Chau. I’m a sophomore majoring in English and Political Science. I love to read, paint, and write. I track my reading and thoughts on books on a website called GoodReads. The image above is a little collage I made. It’s a collage of me and other things I love. the picture…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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